Memphis, Tennessee (CNN) – The Republican National Committee overwhelmingly approved a measure Friday that will punish candidates seeking the 2016 Republican presidential nomination if they participate in debates that are not sanctioned by the national party.

The penalty is meant to give the RNC more control over the presidential nominating process after party leaders watched a nasty, drawn-out primary in 2012 that included 20 major debates. Only seven RNC members opposed the new “rule,” while 152 supported it. The RNC also created a new committee that will oversee the GOP primary debate process including the timing, location and media partners for the debates.

(CNN) – A new poll released Thursday shows debate watchers believe President Barack Obama won the third and final presidential debate over Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

The Gallup poll, taken entirely after the last debate focused on foreign policy and held in Boca Raton, Florida, indicated 56% of debate watchers thought Obama did a better job while 33% thought Romney won.FULL POST

(CNN) – Tagg Romney, Mitt Romney's oldest son, apologized to President Barack Obama Monday for saying he wanted to "take a swing" at him during contentious presidential debates.

Obama and Tagg Romney were seen speaking on the stage after Monday's final presidential debate, held at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida. Two Obama aides said the conversation included an apology for the remark, made last week during a radio interview.FULL POST

(CNN) – New polls taken before the final presidential debate indicate that the race for the White House is all knotted up between President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney in two key states.

American Research Group released the surveys on Tuesday in battleground states showing Obama with a slight edge in Nevada, 49% to Romney's 47%, and Romney with the advantage in New Hampshire, 49% to Obama's 47%. But the results are well within the poll's sampling error making it a statistical tie.FULL POST

(CNN) – Mitt Romney's campaign released a new television ad Tuesday picking up on an attack waged repeatedly by Romney that President Barack Obama went on an "apology tour," expressing regret on behalf of the United States to other nations, as president.

Tonight's debate will focus on foreign policy and international issues, and there is no better network that dominates coverage of the planet than CNN. From our bureaus in the Middle East, China and Africa, to our stellar national security team, to analysis from Christiane Amanpour, CNN owns the story of the world.FULL POST

(CNN) – President Barack Obama will campaign in Florida on Tuesday after the final presidential debate with Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

The president will deliver remarks at a grassroots event in Delray, Florida before traveling to Ohio for a rare joint-appearance Tuesday with Vice President Joe Biden in Dayton, the Obama campaign announced Friday.FULL POST

(CNN) – At a rally in Iowa Wednesday, President Barack Obama picked up on Republican nominee Mitt Romney's awkward "binders full of women" line from Tuesday night's second presidential debate.

Asked by an undecided voter and audience member about gender pay inequality during the debate, Romney said that as he was assembling his cabinet after being elected governor in Massachusetts, he questioned his staff for sending him only male applicants.FULL POST

(CNN) – A question posed at Tuesday night's town hall-style debate opened up a discussion into the issue of gun violence, but a survivor of the deadly July shooting in Colorado said the candidates' responses were devoid of substantive ideas.

"The demands of 270,000 Americans for President Obama and Governor Romney to address gun violence broke through during tonight's debate," said Stephen Barton, a 22-year-old recent college graduate and Fulbright scholar, who survived a shot in the face and neck at the theater shooting in Aurora that left 12 others dead.FULL POST